New Catholic leader welcomed by Anglicans

The newly appointed leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales says he plans to work for an “open” relationship with Anglican leaders.

Last week, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham, was chosen by the Pope to replace Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor as Archbishop of Westminster.

Archbishop Nichols, 63, is due to take up his position on 21 May, Ascension Day.

He said that he was committed to increased ecumenical dialogue with the Church of England, despite theological differences, such as on the ordination of women clergy.

Archbishop Nichols claimed that “great strides” towards unity had been made in recent years and said that it was vital for churches to turn their “inspiration of faith” into “solid action”.

“Yes, there are profound theological issues which in some ways have become sharper, and we have to keep addressing those and keep an open relationship with the Church of England. That will no doubt exercise our minds and our generosity; but the most important thing is that Christians continue to work together, and inspire each other.”

The Archbishop is seen as a strong defender of the Catholic faith. As head of the Department for Education and Formation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, he worked with Anglican leaders to defend faith schools from a proposal requiring them to take 25 per cent non-Christian students.

His campaign against quotas in faith schools was successful, as was his campaign against the airing of the controversial animated series Popetown, which was seen as mocking the Pope and the Catholic Church.

He led an unsuccessful campaign to get the government to back down on imposing legislation on Catholic adoption agencies, which forced them to allow homosexuals to adopt.

The Archbishop was also responsible for reforming child-protection procedures in the Catholic Church following abuse scandals that rocked the Church.

His appointment has been welcomed by Anglican leaders.

The Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, described Nichols as a “thoroughly experienced pastor, already well-known and much appreciated in the archdiocese, with a proven commitment to Christian education, ecumenical co-operation, and shared Christian witness to our society."

He added, “I am confident that we shall be able to continue the warm and close relations between our Churches that have developed over recent years, and I wish him every blessing and success in this new ministry.”

In addition Dr John Sentamu, Anglican Archbishop of York, said, “I worked with Archbishop Vincent during my time as Bishop of Stepney, when he was an auxiliary bishop in Westminster, and saw first-hand his commitment and ability through the work he did in prisons.

“It was a real joy to renew that working relationship when I was made Bishop of Birmingham, where we worked together across a range of issues as members of the Faith Leaders Group.

“Archbishop Vincent supported the Church of England in its work in Birmingham, and was a strong voice of support in our evangelistic efforts and missions.”

Last week when his selection was announced, Archbishop Nichols said, “We often hear of the challenges facing our country in finding cohesion in the face of great diversity. Our churches are places where people are from a wide variety of different racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. They come together, work together, and contribute together to the wider good of our society. The Church in this country has a great deal to offer, and I hope to do my best to contribute to that project in this new role.”

He added, “If we banish that depth of humanity inspired by faith, then our public services become purely commercialised… Human beings work best when their best motivations are energised, and that means the motivation of faith. We are not just buyers and sellers. Put crudely, real social community cohesion will not be achieved on an aggressively secular model.”